Notable

A lot of readers see what Collins, Nelson, Specter et al. are doing in the worst light. Nelson as a turncoat. And Collins, Snowe and Specter diluting the Stimulus Bill to no good end. On the policy merits, I completely agree. As many others with greater grasps of the budgetary and economics particulars have argued, the list of cuts they’ve pushed through follow no coherent approach to the package — and build up the least effective parts of the package at the expense of the most. They follow a logic of political grandstanding.

But one of the biggest outside, labor-liberal groups pushing this bill, Americans United for Change, is out in these states running new ads this weekend in support of Collins, Specter, Snowe and Nelson.